This invention relates to method of harvesting crops in adjacent rows or swaths using a tractor-drawn crop harvester having means for changing its operating position to harvest crops on either side of the tractor as it advances in the field and to apparatus to perform said method, that is, a tractor-drawn crop harvester having an arched hitching tongue connecting it to the tractor which is pivotally mounted to the harvester frame about a vertical axis located proximate to the transverse center thereof and capable of swinging over the harvesting apparatus, the tongue being controlled and of sufficient length to permit the harvester to be operated on either side of the tractor.
Conventional tractor-drawn crop harvesters, and more specifically mower-conditioners, are designed to operate with the harvesting apparatus outboard of the tractor wheels to one side, usually the right side, so that the tractor will not be driven over the crop being harvested and press it into the ground where the mower cannot properly cut it. The common method of harvesting with this type of equipment is to circle the field cutting an inward spiral towards the center. However, in areas of the country where the fields must be irrigated, parallel rows of dirt dams or borders are spaced at about forty to sixty foot intervals across the field to prevent the irrigation water from flowing from the higher portion of the field to the lower portions. These borders are commonly about a foot and a half high by about two feet wide and present a barrier to harvesting by circling the the field since the harvester will not easily cross over them although they can be straddled in the direction of travel by the pulling tractor. Thus, with a conventional tractor-drawn harvester having the harvesting apparatus outboard on one side, the operator must make a pass in one direction on one side of the field and then go to the other side of the field, which may be a considerable distance, to return, the alternative being to run over the crops on the return pass.
One approach to solve this problem has been the self-propelled harvester which harvests the crop forwardly of the ground wheels thereby permitting the haarvester to return harvesting the row or swath adjacent to that cut on the previous pass. However, this type of machine is relatively expensive since it requires a power unit, operator's platform and controls, a more complicated drive train, and three or four wheels. Moreover, it is a single purpose machine as opposed to a tractor-harvester combination wherein the tractor may be used for many purposes.
The crop harvester described herein, which provides many of the advantages of the self-propelled harvester without the additional expense, is capable of operating on either side of the tractor and consequently, the operator can harvest the crops in the row or swath adjacent to the previously cut row or swath by turning around and placing the harvester on the opposite side of the tractor, the dirt borders being straddled by the tractor as necessary. In this manner, the operator simply works his way across the field as he would with a self-propelled unit and the only time crops need be run down by the tractor would be during the first pass in the field should there be insufficient room outside the crop for the tractor, a small disadvantage.
Specifically, the harvester is provided with an arched hitching tongue to connect it to the tractor hitch. The tongue arches over the harvesting apparatus mounted forwardly on the frame of the harvester and is pivotally mounted to the frame about a vertical axis located at approximately the transverse center of the harvesting apparatus so that the harvester will be able to swing, preferably an equal distance, to either side of the tractor and position the harvesting apparatus outboard of the tractor wheels. The angular position of the tongue with respect to the harvester and, the position of the harvester with respect to the tractor, is controlled by means, preferably a hydraulic cylinder, which are preferably remotely actuable from the tractor to permit the operator to make finite adjustments during operation as well as to swing the harvester from one side of the tractor to the other at the end of a pass.
Applicants are aware of a crop harvester which is somewhat similar structurally to that described herein. This prior art harvester has a swingable arched tongue of the type described above which is controlled by a remotely actuated hydraulic cylinder connecting the tongue to the harvester frame. However, the tongue in this prior art machine is pivotally mounted about a vertical axis which is located at the left side of the harvester frame rather than proximate to the center as in applicants' invention and the length of the tongue is not sufficient to permit the harvester to operate on both sides of the tractor nor does the advertising literature promulgated for this machine which Applicants have seen describe any such two way operation. These structural differences would result in this machine having the same difficulties as the conventional harvesters described above especially in border fields and render it incapable of meeting any of the objects of applicants' invention as set forth hereinafter.
It is a general object of the invention described herein to provide a tractor-drawn harvester able to harvest adjacent rows or swaths of crops from opposite directions without driving the pulling tractor over or through the crops.
It is further an object of the invention to provide a relatively efficient and inexpensive method of harvesting crops in adjacent rows or swath using a tractor-drawn crop harvester.
A further object of the invention is to provide a tractor-drawn crop harvester capable of being operated outboard of either side of the pulling tractor.
A more specific object of the invention is to provide a tractor-drawn crop harvester having controlled hitching means capable of passing over the harvesting apparatus to position the harvester on either side of the tractor.